culture
Gangaramaya Temple
Colombo's most visited Buddhist temple, crowding its courtyards with Buddha images, vintage cars and an eccentric museum of donated curios beside Beira Lake.
Colombo · Attractions
Top attractions in Colombo
A reference guide to the sights worth seeing in Colombo, what each one is and why it's worth your time.
Want to know how to spend your days instead? See our things to do.
landmark
Seema Malaka Temple
A serene set of meditation pavilions designed by Geoffrey Bawa, floating on platforms in Beira Lake and reached by a short walkway, best at low light.
culture
Colombo National Museum
The island's largest museum, in an 1877 colonial building, displaying the regalia of the last Kandyan king alongside Buddhist bronzes and antiquities.
landmark
Galle Face Green
A half-kilometre oceanfront lawn where the city gathers at dusk for kite-flying, sea air and carts selling isso wade and other street snacks.
landmark
Colombo Lotus Tower
At 350 metres, the tallest structure in South Asia, its lotus-shaped observation deck giving glass-panelled views over the port, lake and coastline.
landmark
Independence Memorial Hall
A columned commemorative hall in Cinnamon Gardens marking the end of British rule in 1948, modelled on a Kandyan royal audience hall.
culture
Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque
The candy-striped Red Mosque of Pettah, a red-and-white 1908 landmark rising above the market lanes and one of Colombo's most photographed buildings.
landmark
Old Dutch Hospital
One of Colombo's oldest colonial buildings in Fort, its Dutch-era courtyards now restored into a precinct of cafes, boutiques and restaurants.
nature
Viharamahadevi Park
Colombo's oldest and largest public park, with big shade trees, flowering blooms and lawns beside the museum, named after a legendary queen.
culture
Wolvendaal Church
A cross-shaped Dutch Reformed church of 1749 on a low Pettah hill, holding colonial-era tombstones and one of the city's oldest interiors.
culture
Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara
An important Buddhist temple just north of the city, famous for its painted murals and a stupa said to mark a visit by the Buddha.